SUNDAY 24 JANUARY      STANTHORPE

We got a fairly early start and went, briefly, to the markets next door – in the Showgrounds, before going to bowls. The markets were pretty tatty – more like a poor garage sale. We just looked and didn’t buy anything. There was not the fresh produce I’d hoped to find there.

Bowls was alright. The people were friendly. We played triples. John was skip, with another lady and me. We won quite well. John played an excellent game. I was a bit happier with my game than I’d been in Toowoomba.

The game was followed by several rounds of drinks, so we were a bit sleepy in the afternoon!

I began drying some pears I’d bought at a stall. They went brown – I need lots of lemon, or a syrup bath, which is too complex to do here. So, at this stage, that is a failed experiment.

John watched cricket on TV.

There was quite a cloud build up through the afternoon, then some heavy rain for a while.

Tea was soup, ham, potato and salad.